Second Draft - Reincarnated Into a Game in Impossible Mode

Ryoshu raised his face to look at the person he had just bumped into. It was a pretty girl with snow-white hair. Her face was rosy with dimpled cheeks. But what accentuated her doll-like beauty was her fiery red eyes.

The young girl was being supported by a boy with blue hair and eyes the color of a clear sky. The boy's figure looked more delicate than the typical muscular build.

Ryoshu recognized these people immediately. He had seen them too many times over the past 6 years.

"H-Haruki... Thank you so much." The girl's face turned bright red, seemingly embarrassed by the careless action of the blue-haired boy.

In contrast to the girl's flushed face, the boy named Haruki, whom Ryoshu often mentioned, appeared completely normal. The boy asked his friend:

"It's nothing, what's important is whether Esther is okay?"

Esther looked directly at Ryoshu, but because he was wearing a mask, she couldn't see his face. Her expression quickly became irritated. Then, she pointed at Ryoshu, who was still sitting on the ground, and berated him:

"You lowly person, what are you wandering around this area for!?"

He seemed quite surprised by what he had just heard. 'Ah... I forgot that she looks down on commoners like me...'

Ryoshu struggled to stand up due to the severe wounds on his body. Now he could see the entire cast of main characters before him. Besides Haruki and Esther, Charlotte was also standing there. Charlotte was a girl with light blonde hair who looked very gentle. And that blonde hair perfectly matched her gentle personality.

'Charlotte also carries a very noble fragrance... truly a genuine princess. Not just a noblewoman like Esther.'

And speaking of princesses, there was still another princess in this group of friends. But instead of being an English princess, Katia, his real-life crush, was a Russian princess.

'She's the sister of that madman... right? But in the game, she never mentioned that prince...' - Ryoshu glanced over at Katia.

The elegant and cold princess was leaning against the wall while waiting for her friends. The beautiful girl's dark purple hair with a hint of pink at the ends fluttered in the wind. Her eyes were a purple shade, somewhat emotionless and cold as ice.

'Ah, why is she even more beautiful in this version? It's so unfair for a fanboy like me... calm down... For now, I can't associate with Katia...'

Ryoshu was stunned by the girl's beauty. His heart seemed to stop beating for a moment.

"Hey! Did you hear what I said? Are you deaf and dumb too?"

His veins popped as the shallow girl named Esther interrupted his beautiful one-of-a-kind moment. He let out a long sigh and then frankly told the noble girl:

"I didn't intentionally bump into you."

Esther seemed quite surprised that someone dared to face her.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" Her red eyes emitted an angry glow.

"And moreover, what is that bizarre mask? You probably think wearing it makes you less ugly."

Esther gradually moved toward Ryoshu while trying to do something to him. Perhaps she wanted to point directly at him to teach him a lesson.

"Calm down a bit, Esther." Haruki tried to persuade her. Perhaps the boy also felt that things were getting a bit too complicated.

People around were also starting to focus their attention on their group. Gradually, the lively chatter in the urban area began to rise.

Charlotte was also quite confused by the current situation, but she didn't know what to do except stand still and bear it. Meanwhile, Katia was still leaning against the wall, but this time she closed her eyes.

Seeing Haruki's advice, Esther became a bit calmer. But out of pride, she still stubbornly continued:

"Haruki, step aside a bit so I can finish talking to this fool."

Perhaps the most exhausted person at this moment was Ryoshu. He had just returned and was still drained after defeating that boss. Moreover, the pressure of being hunted by a prince had also left him mentally exhausted.

Suddenly, a cold voice sounded from behind a helpless Charlotte in the current situation:

"Esther, stop it."

The quietest girl in their group of friends, Katia, spoke up. This somewhat surprised the whole group.

"We're standing in the middle of the road," she continued, "Don't try to pick fights with those weaker than you anymore, Esther."

Esther was still quite upset. But she could only sigh and gestured for Ryoshu to get lost quickly.

"Whatever. You, get out of here now."

'Finally, it's over... now I'll go somewhere to rest.'

Ryoshu quickly slipped away. But Charlotte had somehow come to his side from the middle of their group without him even noticing. She dusted off his clothes and asked him:

"Are you okay... I'm sorry you had to deal with my friend like that. Esther is a kind-hearted person... it's just that sometimes she's a bit hot-tempered... Please don't think badly of her."

Ryoshu felt touched by Charlotte's friendliness. Even though she was a princess, a person with great power in this country. Yet Charlotte always treated everyone fairly and without bias. She especially cherished her friends.

Charlotte possessed a beauty that was more innocent and cute than just pretty.

'No wonder Haruki is head over heels for her. Charlotte is indeed kind and polite. Thank you... when I'm strong enough, I'll help you later.'

But now Ryoshu has decided to stay away from the main characters for a long time. Because both Katia and Esther were deadly dangers. The former was the sister of that psychotic prince, the latter despised commoners and might eliminate them just because they annoyed her.

"I'm fine," he replied with a voice that he tried to alter by a few tones.

But then suddenly, Charlotte said the next sentence that surprised everyone there.

"You are... Ryoshu?"

Time seemed to truly freeze, but not due to the influence of any skill. They stared at him.

Esther suddenly rushed toward Ryoshu. Then she yanked off his Stealth mask so quickly that he couldn't react.

He tried to cover his face with his hands, but her eyes had already seen everything.

"Why does your face look so hideous? No wonder... you just wanted to run away from here..."

But then Haruki tried to salvage the awkward situation at that moment.

"Are you okay, Ryoshu? You look... really different... a lot... no, just a bit. I mean... two weeks ago you looked very different from now."

After that, she came up with an idea to humiliate the person standing in front of her by telling Charlotte:

"I can't believe this fool confessed to you last week, Charlotte."

Once again, Ryoshu became more surprised. Strange things continued to happen to his astonishment. Like how his character had previously known the main character's group of friends... and even confessed?

'I wonder if my current face will make them misunderstand anything else... of course, a lot more... Wonderful...'

"So after being rejected, you... had to go to this extent?"

'For God's sake... do you need to spell it out like that?' He seemed speechless.

More and more people on the street were gathering to observe them while murmuring unfounded rumors.

'I should get out of here quickly... I'll make this girl lose face later!'

After deciding on his vendetta, Ryoshu said to Esther:

"No... why would I do that?"

"You're such a bad actor." But the girl didn't seem to believe his words anymore.

'But I wouldn't believe it either... who would ever dare to fight monsters four power ranks higher than themselves?'

However, Ryoshu was that exception. The wounds on his body... or in this case, his face... were battle scars from risking his own life.

But even so, he wouldn't be able to convince anyone. Realizing he was wasting time for nothing, Ryoshu immediately ran from the place:

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

He pulled his hoodie back up once more. Then, he quickly stepped away from the crowd, not forgetting to leave a polite goodbye.

"Farewell."

'Ah, damn... I haven't gotten my mask back.' Ryoshu was quite hesitant at the thought of having to go back again.

'This is so humiliating... but that mask is something I can't leave behind... And what if Katia's brother sees...'

He was quite terrified of that insane prince, so he immediately turned around.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned back, Ryoshu encountered Esther's face once more. She had just grabbed his arm with a rather confident smile.

'Anyway, Esther is now an E-rank Awakened, so this confidence is completely understandable.'

She seemed quite surprised by Ryoshu's turtle-like reflexes:

"W-where are you going? I'm not done with you yet."

He didn't care and just quickly reached for his mask while she was surprised. Ryoshu put the mask back on and looked straight into the eyes of that arrogant girl.

"Esther White."

Hearing her full name, the white-haired girl couldn't help but feel chills.

"Do you want... to pick a fight with me?" Ryoshu said coldly while his hand gripped her arm tightly.

Esther was so scared that she couldn't move or say anything back.

'I didn't expect my acting skills to be this good...?'

Seeing her fear, he threw her arm aside. Then Ryoshu turned around and walked straight ahead without looking back.

Out of the crowd, he immediately activated the Stealth ability of the mask he had just put back on his face. After that, Ryoshu casually walked into a deserted alley.

After walking for a while, he suddenly heard Esther's familiar screaming from afar.

"Where did you run to? You bastard!!!"

The corner of Ryoshu's lips turned up slightly. Perhaps it was because this was the first time he had communicated with humans again after a seemingly endless period in that deadly silent place.

'Ah... although I haven't fully avenged myself after all these years of torment... but I will soon make you lose face... Esther, just you wait.'

Thinking about the fun tricks he could play to tease the person who had tortured and humiliated him for over half a decade, Ryoshu felt quite excited.

"Side quests are the best!"